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Gov. Rauner To Visit McHenry County To Tour Flood Damage

CHICAGO (CBS) — Gov. Bruce Rauner will be in Algonquin Sunday afternoon around 4:30 to tour flood damage in McHenry County, as the flood waters continue to rise.

The Fox River has already swelled more than two feet above the flood stage of 9.5 feet and should keep rising to near 12.7 feet by Tuesday.

Flood warnings will continue for several days for Gurnee and other communities along the Des Plaines River.

Patti Thompson, with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, says local residents are leading the way in the flood effort.

“We have a lot of good capabilities in these counties, they really have asked very little from the state from this point. We have provided 350,000 sandbags to Lake County — we have more going to Kane and McHenry County.”

About 7,000 structures, at least, have been affected so far, but Thompson says it will be a while before more exact damage numbers are known. They won’t be able to calculate that until the floodwaters go down.

And she reminds those out sandbagging, cleaning, or just walking and driving, that the floodwaters remain very dangerous.

“The big thing is we want people to stay safe out there. Not only do we have the floodwaters right now, but we have the heat and humidity that will be returning late in the week also — so we people need to be careful.”